Ben being smart, again

Ben Affleck told a crowd at a charity event in L.A. last night that he worried people would think he was “just an airhead celebrity” when he got involved with charity work in Africa. “I thought, well maybe I'd like to get involved, but I was nervous about it and I thought, you know, I don't want to be a dilettante,” Affleck said in a speech at the Children Mending Hearts event, according to the Press Association. “People would say this guy's just an airhead celebrity and he doesn't know anything, and at the time of course, I didn't. So I thought: well I should learn about this and I traveled there.” Affleck has recently become known for his work in the Congo, where he shot a documentary and served as a special “Nightline” correspondent. So…he needn’t have worried. International Medical Corps president Nancy Aossey called Ben a “very smart man. He wanted to see the work on the ground, wanted to visit the people and learn for himself.” Sheryl Crow sang at the event, which was also attended by Andie MacDowell, Joel Madden, Kate Walsh, Marisa Tomei, Alyssa Milano, and Elizabeth Berkeley. Proud wife Jennifer Garner also snuck into watch Ben’s speech, but reportedly made a quick break after.